Morning Qualm
by KatePedoBear
Summary: Reality can be harsh, but it's the struggles that make us who we are. One Shot of Antoinette Walker's past (One Piece OC)


**A/N: Welp just a little one shot providing a glimpse of my One Piece OC's childhood. If I would make a longer story or a full fanfiction for her, I'm not sure how much of her past I would include unless she's talking about it with another character. Anyway, I don't have a beta so if there are grammatical errors or you are a beta willing to help out, don't hesitate to message me! Criticism is highly welcomed for any of my stories! Thanks so much for reading!**

The morning air was silent, not even a single breeze disrupting the serenity that had rested upon the thin layer of fog surrounding the lake. The cool waters surrounded by dense pine almost seemed to be like glass, only being disrupted by the occasional movement underneath the surface, riddling the stillness with tiny ripples. Off in the distance came a faint rattling, swiftly approaching in the warm light of the rising sun. A young boy was softly panting, pushing the pedals of his small red bike with an eager velocity; occasionally letting the bike glide as it made its way around the gravel, lakeside road.

"You're slow," said a voice from behind, impatience lingering with each word.

"And you're too fat," the boy chuckled with harshness in his tone, "but you don't see me complaining."

The girl who had complained before sat silently on the back of the bike seat, one hand gripped to the edge of the seat for support, and the other holding back her short raven hair that twirled in the gentle wind. Her eyes matched the blue sky which seemed to be waking up itself, transitioning from its previous muted oranges and purples.

Still, the clouds hung low and the mist wasn't giving way. The morning was still young and the two had to hurry before the prime fishing time was over. The pair had attached a holster that tapped rapidly against the side of their bike that held two identical fishing poles that swayed and rustled with every bump in the road. The two liked having identical possessions and wouldn't dare doing anything without each other. Perhaps it was the nature of all adolescent twins.

Coming to a halt the bike's old gears groaned with the strain of a long ride, and the boy rested a foot on the ground so his sister could get off, but not without giving it a playful rock. The girl who almost fell over because of this looked back with strict eyes before her expression softened into a smile.

"I'll race you to the water," she challenged before swiping a pole from the bike's holster and fumbling down the gradual hill to the rocky shore.

The male twin now in a panic to win, practically threw the bike down after taking his pole and dismounting. It was futile to race his sister who was already so far ahead and only ended terribly when he slipped on the grass, drizzled with dew.

Wiping himself off, he gave an irritated sigh when he noticed there was already deep green streaks where the grass had left stains. Luckily for him, he was smart enough to let go of the pole as soon as he lost his balance, preventing it from breaking in the fall. The bad news was, his sister wouldn't stop laughing at him. His face flushed with a light shade of pink in his embracement of a crippling loss of pride. It only became worse when the laughter stopped abruptly.

"Is this your pole, smart- mouth?" A slightly chubbier, older looking kid with a shaved head waved the pole in his hand mockingly. Behind him stood two other boys.

"Not so cool now are we?" Said another one with spiked, brown hair and red shorts.

"Yeah, now you're going to have to get this back from us!" Said the last; a child with a blue shirt and a gap between his two front teeth.

The girl hadn't even seen the boys before, but given how fast they managed to get the pole, they must have been waiting for them to go fishing in their usual spot. They were a couple of local boys who stuck close together and took a dislike to the twin boy, Zeke. Not that she could blame them; Zeke just didn't know when to shut his mouth sometimes.

"Give it back!" Zeke yelled, kicking up grass while struggling to run up the slippery hill in his red and yellow sneakers.

"No way!" The chubby one spouted, holding the pole above his head.

Zeke marched right up to the boy and easily reached up to get the pole, gripping on tight with his tiny hand, riddled with band aids. As soon as Zeke and the chubby on started to struggle for possession over the pole, the other two boys joined in and pulled Zeke away. With Zeke's resistance suddenly gone, the pole snapped back and swung at the chubby boy's face.

The impact made a sharp slap sound against the boy's face, not taking long before making a red line across his forehead from the impact.

"You did that on purpose!" Said the chubby boy. 

"Now you've done it!" Said the brown haired boy as he shoved Zeke to the ground.

Now the other boys began to take swings at the fallen boy, kicking him repeatedly as he cried out in pain, rolling around in the grass to avoid being kicked in the face. The girl was in shock at first, looking to her pole, to the boys and back again as if she didn't know where to put it. It wasn't until she saw that blood was trickling down her brother's face that she finally snapped out of her trance.

As if some violent omen had taken hold of her consciousness, the sister dropped her pole to the ground and sprinted up the hill, fists clenched tight.

"Get off of him!" She shrieked, pushing the chubbier boy over onto his back with one hand, and slamming the back of her other hand into the face of the boy with the gap in his teeth.

By the time she had directed her attention to the instigator with the brown hair, he was reaching for her arms to stop her frantic movements. To no avail, he lost grip of one arm as the girl's fist found its way to his nose. The boy stumbled backwards onto the grass, landing on his butt and trying to scoot away. The girl let no time go to waste, plopping herself down onto the boy and wailing her fists relentlessly at him.

"What gives you the right to hurt him?!" She was practically screaming now, "Don't you think he's been hit enough without you adding to it?!"

By now the other boys had regained their focus and came over to assist their friend, but they couldn't get any closer without the girl swinging a punch at them too. She continued her tirade of heavy hits until she noticed sticky red smears on her hands. She looked down as to see what she had done; only now noticing that she had given the kid quite a beating as well as thickly bloodied nose.

Horrified expression on her face, she quickly removed herself from on top of the boy and looked at her hands in awe. How did she not even feel how far she had taken her anger? Her throat was raspy from the yelling and tiny tears began to form in the corners of her eyes as she struggled to keep her breath regular.

The other two boys who stood there in complete shock at the sudden outburst were quick to help their friend stand to his feet as the girl ran to get her fishing pole. Working hard to get the sobbing brown haired boy to his feet, the chubbier one called out:

"You're just a bunch of devil twins!"

And with that he and the boy with the gap in his teeth hastily ran off to take the bloodied brown haired boy home, leaving the two twins alone again.

"A-Antoinette!" Zeke cried out, now sitting up and wiping the tears that wouldn't stop coming.

The girl, Antoinette, made her way over to Zeke, fishing pole in hand. She kneeled down so she could be face height to him, eyes looking down with a sudden somberness to them.

"I-It hurts!" Zeke could hardly choke out the words as he struggled for breaths.

"I know," Antoinette whispered as to calm him down, looking at all the new bruises that would form over the one's that had been there before, "but it's over now."

The ride home was silent and the familiar rattling of the poles in their holster was the only sound that could be heard, other than the gears of the bike clanking together as the two let the breeze run over their faces.

"Antoinette," Zeke began, resting his head on Antoinette's shoulder as she pedaled steadily, "you were scary."

The two continued down the path, getting farther into the pines which passed by in rows stretching deep into the dark shadows of the forest.

"I know," Antoinette replied after a while, "I scarred myself."

Zeke nodded and nuzzled into Antoinette's back. He closed his eyes, exhausted from the beating he got earlier. His nose had finally stopped bleeding, but then again it wasn't as bad as the one Antoinette dealt the brown haired boy.

"Mom hit you because of me last time," Zeke continued, not bothering to open his eyes again, "so why did you stop them?"

Antoinette let the bike glide for a while, looking back at her dozing brother. His white shorts made is so you could see his knees which were cut up from the fall, and his black t-shirt let the welts from the boy's kicks show on his arms. How would she ever explain those things to her uncle let alone her mother?

"I can't stand to see people hurt," she simply put.

Zeke's eyes fluttered open as he looked to his sister. Her eyes were back on the road again, not seeming to care about anything other than getting home. He shrugged and closed them again.

Zeke sighed, just as tired of having to be on that bike as his sister.

"And now we have no fish."


End file.
